Orthopedic medicine is increasingly becoming aware of the vast potential and advantages of using grafts made from allograft bone to treat and repair spinal and common joint injuries, such as Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) or Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) tears. In the case of injuries involves surgically reconnecting the torn portions of a damaged ligament. However, this technique is often not possible, especially when the damage to the ligament is extensive. The recent utilization of bone/tendon grafts has dramatically improved the results of joint repair in cases of severe trauma. Even in cases of extensive damage to the joint ligaments, orthopedic surgeons have been able to achieve 100 percent range of motion and stability using donor bone/tendon grafts.
Despite these realized advantages, there have been some difficulties encountered with utilizing bone/tendon grafts. For example, surgical procedures involving transplantation and fixation of these grafts can be tedious and lengthy. Currently, bone/tendon/bone grafts must be specifically shaped for the recipient during surgery, which can require thirty minutes to over an hour of time. Further, surgeons must establish a means of attaching the graft, which also takes up valuable surgery time.
Another difficulty associated with using allograft implants, such as bone/tendon grafts, is that there is only a limited supply of source tissue. As a result, patients often have to settle for inferior surgical procedures simply based on the lack of availability of tissue. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for the development of implants that implement unrealized sources of tissue.